Abbey-Leigh Stringer says that West Ham United women’s team are looking for an improved collective performance when they face Aston Villa in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers have lost their previous two matches since returning after the November international break, but Stringer is hoping that a week of hard work out on the training pitch and a loud home crowd will be able to spur the team on to perform better against the Villains.
Stringer has featured four times in the WSL this season and completed her first 90 minutes last weekend against Manchester United. She’s delighted to be back playing regularly after missing the final three months of the 2022/23 season due to injury.
The 28-year-old midfielder previewed the clash against her former club, whom she began her career with at youth level, as well as featuring for Villa in a short loan spell back in 2015.
We’ve had a week of hard work out on the training pitch
We all know that we weren’t good enough as a collective last weekend, so we’ve tweaked a couple of things and worked on bits that we know need to be better.
The mood in the camp is positive, but we’re also all really hunger to get back to the performances that we were producing before the international break.
I know that the girls are really buying into what Rehanne [Skinner] and her coaching team are implementing. We have to remember that it’s a fresh set of people and playing style, so things are going to take time to come together. We’ve had some positive performances so far this season, and we need to get back to those and start picking up some results to help us move forward.
I’m enjoying working with Rehanne and the standards that she sets for the group
For me personally, I really like that because I pride myself on having those high standards and giving my absolute best every day. The manager wants us all to be the best version of ourselves and develop in all areas, and that’s really exciting.
I’ve really enjoyed working with her so far, and I’m sure that the things that she is implementing will become more consistent in our performances as the season progresses.
It’s nice to be getting some minutes for the team and making a contribution
The final parts of last season were frustrating for me because I wasn’t available due to injury. It’s nice now to be out there and building some momentum – everyone loves playing, and I’m no different.
I’m doing my best to make sure that I do everything that I can to stay fit and healthy so I can contribute as much as I can and help the team to move forward.
Villa will give us a good game, but we have to make sure we play to our strengths
I think both teams are very aggressive and want to get on the ball, so we have to come out on top and implement our style on the game and control things. Villa have some world class players, but we know that if we stick to our gameplan then we have a really good opportunity to get some more points on the board.
We have to make sure that, as a team, we’re all working together and following what Rehanne wants us to do.
